Makers of the World’s First Blockchain-Integrated Medical Device Launch Second Phase of Token Sale

Following the successful completion of its first round crowdsale, Bowhead Health has made the second lot of its anonymized health tokens available.

Bowhead Medical Device. Photo by Bowhead Health

Health is the most fundamental factor in a happy and fulfilling life yet the future of people’s healthcare is being challenged by inaccessibility and increasing costs. Expected to grow to $18 trillion, innovation in health technology is continuously accelerating, compounding the issue of accessibility for those who are unable to afford it. Data-driven health monitoring and personalized solutions provide a roadmap for the future of the healthcare industry. Significant innovation is taking place in the improved management of health data, diagnostics and dispensing of health supplements and medication, allowing people to benefit from control and ownership of their own personal medical information. New companies are creating systems to directly benefit people with this ownership of their personal medical information, at the same time ensuring access to healthcare is provided in a more democratic manner. One of these new companies is Bowhead Health, which is developing a medical device supported by cryptography that allows people to monitor and respond to their health data from the comfort of their own home. Named after the world’s longest living mammal, the company aims to positively impact human longevity.

Health data is arguably the most valuable information resource stored on the planet. It is sought after by research institutions and vital in the development of medical technology, yet in general, patients are not compensated for their own contributions to it nor are they guaranteed security from this highly personal information being shared with third parties. Bowhead Health is addressing these shortcomings by developing a health platform that compensates individuals who provide anonymized health data to the Bowhead blockchain. Individuals receive 70% of the funds paid by research institutions in exchange for health data, with Bowhead token holders receiving the remaining 30% of the funds.

“Not only is the application of this platform valuable for the developed world in people’s homes and offices but we also see it being used in a kiosk format for an entire rural community in the developing world where medical care is not readily available,” added Dr. Francisco Diaz-Mitoma

Based in Canada, Bowhead Health has an ambitious plan that aims to:

Create a patient multi-sig wallet where individuals are in full control of their health data from what is being shared to with whom the sharing occurs

Develop a connected hardware device for the home or office that can:

o Test for levels of vitamins and hormones and diagnose malaria and tuberculosis
o Dispense in real-time personalized selections and dosages of nutritional supplements and medicine

“We are thrilled to be operating at the intersection of cryptography, biochemistry, hardware and software to bring our Bowhead vision to life,” says Dr. Mehta.

The startup intends to launch in two phases, with home test kits being shipped to a lab by fall 2017 and realtime diagnostic and dispenser devices by winter 2018.

Bowhead Health is the first of its kind in using a medical device paired to a blockchain but it is not the only company finding cryptography technology useful for the health industry. Other startups such as pokitdok and patientory are also exploring the use of blockchain to facilitate the sharing and security of health records. Patientory raised $9M in an ICO last month and Pokitdok has raised over $30M since its founding 2 years ago.

The company was co-founded 18 months ago by Dr. Rhea Mehta, Dr. Francisco Diaz-Mitoma, and his son, Francisco Diaz-Mitoma Jr. Combining forces with robotics engineer Saúl Ibaven Bueno, the team is led by frontrunners in their respective industries, with the credentials and experience to bring Bowhead Health from concept through to a revolutionary medical device.
Besides its impressive leadership team, the company has received an undisclosed amount of investment from Grupo Arcoiris, a design and manufacturing firm with over 600 employees, that counts Bayer, Sanofi Pasteur, Merck, Pfizer among its clients.

“Bowhead Health is at the bleeding edge of science and we are proud to join forces to accomplish a technical feat,” says David Bueno, Chief Operating Officer at Grupo Arcoiris.

Funds from the Bowhead token sale will be used to fund research, development, and manufacturing of the medical device and Bowhead platform. As the Bowhead community grows, the influx of customer data will greatly improve the user recommendation algorithm, benefiting customers with more targeted nutritional supplements and medicine.